NPR News Low Vision Story: My Patients Are Losing Their Sight. How Can I Help Them Cope?

News story from www.npr.orgnpr low vision story

 

“I’m a retinal specialist, an ophthalmologist who specializes in the back of the eye. I see a good number of patients with age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, a disease that limits central vision. It affects at least 6 percent of the population, and the more severe form with significant vision loss will affect about 3 million people by the year 2020.

People with AMD can have trouble recognizing faces, reading, driving and navigating their everyday lives. We are constantly searching for new treatments, different ways to battle the disease and the havoc it wreaks on vision. But I’ve started to wonder if we are missing out on a big opportunity to help our patients — treating the depression that can come with such a major loss.

Someone recently asked me how many of my patients have depression. I realized I had no idea. In fact, 10 to 30 percent of people with AMD have depression, which is double the normal rate for people older than 70.”

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